In an effort to better understand how a medical building might make patients sicker
and to find ways to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a team of scientists has been
testing thousands of microbe samples from a Chicago hospital. Data from the test is still
being analyzed, but so far the team has found that factors including ventilation and
humidity, as well as design features such as furnishings and fixtures, affect the
kinds of bacteria people encounter inside a hospital that may impact their health.